Silent assassin

"Type 2 diabetes can remain undetected for ten years or more before someone is diagnosed. It really is a silent assassin – more than 500,000 people have the condition but do not even know it, and by the time they are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes 50 per cent of people are found to have started developing complications.”

Diabetes is serious...

Diabetes UK today launches the Silent Assassin campaign to highlight that diabetes is a serious condition and improve awareness of its devastating complications.

... but you can learn how to beat it

The campaign encourages people at risk of developing Type 2 diabetes to make urgent changes in their lifestyle. Diabetes UK also wants to ensure that people with Type 1 diabetes or with Type 2 diabetes have access to appropriate care, support and education to help them manage their condition effectively and avoid developing the life-shattering complications of diabetes.

Mr Smallwood continued: “In many cases the number of deaths caused by diabetes is still under-reported: the death certificate will say heart attack but it was really diabetes. We want to prevent millions of people from facing a future of ill-health and reduced life-expectancy.

Simple steps

"There is still a worrying lack of awareness about diabetes, its risk factors and the simple steps people can take to reduce their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and manage the condition. We believe the hard-hitting messages of the Silent Assassin campaign will help us improve the health of the nation by raising awareness of the seriousness of the condition.”

UK-wide campaign

The campaign messages will be communicated through a series of UK-wide posters as well as newspaper and consumer magazine advertising from October 2008.

The number of people with diabetes in the UK is rising dramatically, there are currently 2.3 million people diagnosed with the condition in the UK and it is estimated that there will be more than four million people with diabetes (diagnosed and undiagnosed) by 2025.